Sanitary door and shelf for liquid dispensers



Nov. 5, 1957 w. s. FERDON SANITARY DOOR AND SHELF FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS Filed Dec. 7, 1956 Fig. 2

INVENTOR United States Patent Office SANITARY DOOR AND SHELF FOR LIQUID DISPENSERS This invention relates to vending machines of the type which dispense liquid and more particularly to sanitory doors therefor.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a sanitary door and shelf for liquid dispensing vendors which will materially improve the sanitation features of such machines by preventing undue exposure to outside elements and by making the material in the container as well as the machine itself more accessible.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a sanitary door and shelf for liquid dispensing vendors of the above type which will facilitate the handling of hot liquids in paper cups without physical inconvenience to the consumer in handling such hot liquids.

Other objects of the invention are to provide a sanitary door and shelf for liquid dispensing vendors bearing the above objects in mind which is of simple construction, has a minimum number of parts, is inexpensive to manufacture and efiicient in operation and use.

For other objects and for a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is front elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention shown in operative use;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view thereof taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 and illustrating in phantom the open position of the door and the extended position of the shelf;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary vertical sectional View taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 of a modified form of the present invention; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken along the line 55 of Fig. 4.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, indicates generally a vending machine for dispensing liquid beverages such as coffee or the like, having the usual front wall 11 and window opening 12 behind which the paper cups 13 are dispensed from the chute 14 and into which the beverage is dispensed from the dispenser nozzle 15, the usual sump 16 being located below the dispenser 15. The upper end of the sump 16 is positioned within the opening provided therefor in the floor member 17.

In the practice of my invention, a transparent door 18 is hingeably mounted at its upper end at the top of the window 12 by means of the hinge assembly 19 and is provided near its lower end with the knob 20 to facilitate the raising and lowering of the same.

The floor member 17 at the inner end of the sump opening is formed with the upwardly extending stop 21. The sump opening in this case is rectangular and the floor member 17 along the opposite longitudinal sides of said rectangular opening is integrally formed with the track members 22 of U-shaped cross section (Fig. 3).

A horizontal rectangular shelf 23 is slidably positioned along its opposite longitudinal edges within the tracks 22 and closes off the top of the sump 16 being provided with perforations 24 for drainage purposes as will be obvious. A three-sided cup receiving member 25 is fixedly positioned on the upper surface of the shelf 23 and receives therewithin the lower end of the cup 13 and will carry the cup outwardly on outward movement of the shelf.

Means are provided for moving the shelf 23 (and the cup 13) to an extended position upon upward movement of the door 18 and include a link 26 pivotally connected to the center of the door 18 at one side by means of the lug 27 and the pin 28, the lower end of the link 26 being pivotally connected to the rear end of the shelf 23 at one side by means of the lug 29 and pin 30.

A channel-shaped member 31 is secured across the lower edge of the window opening 12 and has a rounded upper surface to reduce friction with the sliding shelf 23.

In operation, as the door 18 i raised, the shelf 23 will move outwardly to the extended position to provide convenient access to the cup 13 which moves outwardly with the shelf. Upon lowering the door 18, the shelf will return to its retracted position ready to receive the next cup which is dispensed. The door 18 will protect the interior of the machine from under-exposure to weather when normally closed.

Other lever means may be used for moving the shelf outwardly upon opening the door, for example as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, a gear 32 is rotatably mounted on the shaft 33 at one side of the slidable shelf 23a, the teeth of the gear 32 being in mesh with the rack gear 34 integrally formed along the edge of the shelf, the opposite longitudinal edges of the shelf resting upon the L-shaped track 35 integrally formed in the member 17 along the opposite sides of the sump opening. The shaft 33 is rotatably mounted and has fixedly connected thereto a lever 36 extending radially thereof, the outer end of which is pivotally connected to a link 37 by means of a pin 38, the other end of the link 37 being pivotally connected to the door 18 by means of the lug 39 and the pin 40. Therefore, upon raising the door 18, the link 37 will pull the link 36 in a clockwise direction to rotate therewith the gear 32 which latter will move the shelf out to the extended position by engagement with the rack gear 34.

In other respects the form of the invention shown in Figs. 4 and 5 is the same a that shown in Figs. 1 through 3 and like reference numerals identify like parts through out the several views. The link 37 could be pivotally connected directly to the gear 32, to eliminate the intermediate link 36.

Upon lowering the door 18, the gear 32 will be caused to rotate in the opposite direction, thus retracting the shelf 23a.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. The combination with a beverage dispensing machine having a cup delivery chute, a beverage dispensing nozzle, a bottom wall below said chute and a sump having its open upper end positioned within the bottom wall below the nozzle and a front wall having a window opening providing access to the cup, of a shelf, means for slidably mounting said shelf above the sump opening and adapted to permit the shelf to move outwardly to an extended position forwardly of the front wall, a transparent door hingeably mounted across the window opening, said shelf having drainage openings, an upstanding member positioned on said shelf adapted to carry the cup outwardly therewith and to receive the cup downwardly Patented Nov. 5, 1957 therewithin as it is dispensed, and lever means interconnecting said door and shelf whereby to move the shelf outwardly as the door is opened and to return the shelf inwardly as the door is closed, said lever means comprising a first link pivotally mounted at its outer end near the central portion of said door at one side thereof, the other end of said link being pivotally connected to the inner end of said shelf at one side thereof whereby to draw said shelf upwardly and outward y as said door is raised.

2. The combination with a beverage dispensing machine having a cup delivery chute, a beverage dispensing nozzle, a bottom wall below said chute and a sump having its open upper end positioned within the bottom wall below the nozzle and a front wall having a window opening providing access to the cup, of a shelf, means for slidably mounting said shelf above the sump opening and adapted to permit the shelf to move outwardly to an extended position forwardly of the front wall, a transparent door hingeably mounted across the window opening, said shelf having drainage openings, an upstanding member positioned on said shelf adapted to carry the cup outwardly therewith and to receive the cup downwardly therewithin as it is dispensed, and lever means interconnecting said door and shelf whereby to move the shelf outwardly as the door is opened and to return the shelf inwardly as the door is closed, said door being hingeably mounted at the top edge thereof within said window opening, a gear rotatably mounted at one side of the sump opening, a rack gear along one longitudinal edge of said shelf in mesh with said gear whereby to move the shelf outwardly as the gear is rotated and link means intel-connecting said gear with said door whereby to rotate the same when the door is raised and to rotate the same in the opposite direction when the door is closed.

3. The combination according to claim 2, said link means comprising a first link pivotally connected at its outer end to the central portion of the door at one side thereof, the other end of said link being pivotally connected to said gear eccentrically thereof.

4. The combination according to claim 1, said means slidably mounting said shelf comprising said bottom wall at opposite sides having a pair of tracks of U-shaped cross section slidably receiving therewithin the opposite longitudinal edges of said shelf, and stop means at the inner end of the sump opening for limiting the inward movement of said shelf.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,637,808 De Armond et al. Aug. 2, 1927 1,882,812 Gunn Oct. 18, 1932 2,321,844 Nicholson June 15, 1943 2,591,507 Brous Apr. 1, 1952 

